Case Number 22766: Small Claims Court

DR. SEUSS' HOLIDAYS ON THE LOOSE

The Charge

Fun is on the loose with three Dr. Suess holiday classics!

The Case

"Loose" being the operative word, two of the three are neither
holiday-related nor classics.

My growing frustration with Warner Home Video's release strategy is well
documented by now, and what better way to illustrate my feelings than with
Dr. Suess' Holidays on the Loose! Every year for the past six years,
Warner Bros. has released How the Grinch Stole Christmas, either as a
stand-alone title (DVD or Blu-ray) or as part of a Christmas collection. Just
exactly how many copies of this 26 minute animated special does one household
need, especially when you can find it running continuously on TNT and TBS and is
now available for digital streaming?

This year, you can find The Grinch being pimped out as part of Santa's
Magical Stories Collection and fronting Dr. Suess' Holidays on the
Loose! Since we've already reviewed it twice for Verdict, there's little
sense in belaboring the point that the talents of director/animator Chuck Jones,
Boris Karloff, June Foray, Thurl Ravenscroft, composer Albert Hague, and Ted
Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) captured the pure essence of Christmas magic back in
1966. However, unlike a vintage wine, age and overexposure is killing the
timelessness of it all. The copy you'll find here is the Deluxe Edition from
2006, literally taken from that packaging and stuck in this one.

Adding insult to injury, it's bookended by Halloween is Grinch Night
(1977) and The Grinch Grinches The Cat in the Hat (1982), both of which
pale in comparison to the feature presentation. In fact, of all the Dr. Seuss
animated adaptations, only How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat in
the Hat (1971), and The Lorax (1972) can be considered classics. The
majority of the DePatie-Freleng shorts -- including the two B-sides here -- are
shallow also-rans in story, song, and production value.

Halloween is Grinch Night attempts to show us Halloween in
Whoville...or does it? The great Hans Conried (The Hobbit) uses his vocal
talents to supplant Karloff, bringing life to this thin tale of a sweet-sour
wind signaling the return of The Grinch and the resulting fear it imposes on one
Who family. Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo's heavy-handed musical
score -- none of which is the least bit memorable -- overwhelms what little
narrative exists, turning The Grinch into a vaudevillian song and dance man.
Even The Grinch's dog Max gets a somber ballad (as sung by The 'Burbs
Henry Gibson) about being abducted from his family. So what does all this have
to do with Halloween? Aside from the title card, nothing. It's obviously autumn
in Whoville, but nothing about the holiday is seen or referenced. And what
exactly does The Grinch plan to do upon his return to Whoville? Well, he
apparently has a large truck full of some hallucinogenic substance that conjures
images of bizarre Seussian creatures (many of which look like sperm) and
abstract geometric backgrounds. What he intends to do with this substance is
never made clear, since the sour-sweet wind dies down and diffuses his
Grinchiness before he reaches the bottom of Mt. Crumpit. To be honest, the only
real value of this story is that Max finally abandons his abusive master to live
with little Ukariah Who.

You may think you've stumbled upon a vintage Smuckers or Pepperidge Farm
commercial, but it's actually actor Mason Adams narrating The Grinch Grinches
The Cat in the Hat, another pointless animated short. Now living somewhere
other than atop Mt. Crumpit, a happy Grinch wakes to greet a cheerful sunny day,
that is until his mirror image convinces him of his real purpose in life. So off
he goes to terrorize the world, running smack dab into the ever optimistic Cat
in the Hat. So irritated by is he by the Cat's disposition that it becomes his
mission to ruin the Cat's day. What results is a Roadrunner/Coyote-esque game of
Cat and Grinch, punctuated by more forgettable Joe Raposo musical numbers. As
you might have guessed, the story has nothing to do with Halloween or Christmas;
just more unnecessary filler for another unnecessary release. Oh, and Max is
back to living with and being abused by The Grinch, which means he needs a Dr.
Phil intervention.

Presented in their original 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio, the Deluxe
Edition of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the beautifully restored
version. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the other two shorts. First,
the quality of the DePatie-Freleng tales is several steps below their
predecessor. The character designs and backgrounds are reminiscent of Saturday
morning television, the color consistency is way off (The Grinch goes from green
and minty white to yellow and orange), and there's a fair amount of dirt, grain,
and cell degradation evident throughout. And while the feature presentation gets
the Dolby 5.1 Surround treatment, the other two are the original 2.0 Mono tracks
suitable for ignoring.

The bonus features are limited to the How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Deluxe Edition disc, all of which you're likely to have seen before...

Commentary -- Join animator Phil Roman and the one-and-only June
Foray for their reminiscence of creating the short.

Dr. Seuss and The Grinch: From Whoville to Hollywood (15 min) -- A
hip hop themed (seriously) featurette looking back at Ted Geisel's career and
the creation of The Grinch. Look for Rico Rodriguez (Manny from Modern
Family) as one of the peanut gallery kids.

Songs in the Key of Grinch (8 min) -- Interviews with composer Albert
Hague (Fame) and the great Thurl Ravenscroft.

Grinch Song Selections -- Video jukebox for the short's four musical
numbers.

Grinch Pencil Tests -- Gallery of concept art and storyboards.

Who's Who in Whoville -- Bios of Dr. Seuss, Chuck Jones, Boris
Karloff, and June Foray.

The Verdict

I love these characters as much as anyone, but at some point we need to stop
the madness. If you already own How the Grinch Stole Christmas -- and by
this point, who doesn't? -- there is no need to even glance at this release.